Disc Dem

Monday, 23 November 2015

Party, Party, Party

“Too many politicians, regardless of which
side of the political divide, have the idea that their parties come first and
the country last. President Jacob Zuma was just the unlucky one who expressed
it in unsophisticated terms. If this were not the case, opposition politicians
would have been able to change the political landscape of this country long
ago, especially with the vulnerability of the ruling party over the past
decade. Instead, they spent time building toy kingdoms, where each is some sort
of king or queen.”

I could not agree more with this sentiment. In local government, I also believe that the primary
fault lies with the dual candidacy, proportional representation party list
system, which promotes and perpetuates cadre deployment and political elitism over
constituency accountability. A system where the Party comes first and constituents,
invariably, come last.

The numbers tell us that the party-based politics of local government has
become a viper’s nest of cadre deployment and political patronage.

Resulting from the 2011 Local Government Elections:

There are 4235 Ward Councillors and 4159 Proportional Councillors in SA's 234 combined Local and Metro Councils[1]

44 Proportional Councillors held the balance of political control in those 14 Councils[3]

It is therefore safe to say that a mere 1.06% of proportional
councillors had influence over the balance of power in a paltry 6% of local
councils. The remaining 4115 proportional councillors added no value to the
process, effectively rendering them surplus to requirements. Surplus to our requirements as municipal taxpayers,
that is.

The cost of proportional councillors is around R1.5 billion per year in
salaries alone. Never mind the high cost
of providing the support infrastructure that goes with them, and the ongoing pension
and medical benefits that will live with us long after they have made enough
money to leave the political stage.

We really do not need these people in our local councils, so why are
they there? The answer is quite
simple. It is a very easy mechanism for party
bosses to reward the party faithful with sheltered employment at our expense,
while at the same time ensuring that their unwavering loyalty to the party comes
before constituency accountability. We do
not choose these individuals, their party does, and if that is not the epitome
of cadre deployment and political patronage then I will struggle to understand
what is.

As a result, local government is in a mess. Municipal infrastructures,
even in the so-called better run DA councils are crumbling because decisions on
infrastructure maintenance are being made by unaccountable politicians. Instead of having a properly devised technical
approach to planned maintenance or infrastructure development, councillors in virtually
all municipalities are deciding which infrastructure to renew, repair, or maintain
based solely upon political agendas, or personal enrichment objectives.

In 2016 there are likely to be more unaccountable councillors than
ever, once the Municipal Demarcation Board has finished redrawing Ward and
Municipal boundaries. Even without this, the latest salary increases
of between 5.5% and 6% for local government politicians will immediately add
another minimum of R250m to the local government political wage bill.[4]

Based on all
of the above, I can think of no rational argument to retain proportional
representation at this level of governance. It is an ineffective and expensive mechanism
that should be abolished prior to 2016 elections, or we will be stuck with
another 5 years of unwarranted and unnecessary expense. The money can be better spent on delivering
adequate services, and uplifting the living standards of poorer communities,
rather than lining the pockets of political parasites.

Unfortunately
we need national government politicians to pass a Constitutional amendment that
is contrary to their own self-interest, so don’t hold your breath.

Unless we find
ways to join hands as communities, rich and poor alike, to voice our dissatisfaction
with the present political dispensation, then we deserve the governance, or
lack thereof, that we get.

[1]
District Councils have been excluded as we only vote for 40% of the
Councillors, 60% are Party appointees

[2]
Three in KZN (KZN233/242/265), ten in W.Cape
(WC011/022/026/034/041/042/045/047/051/052), & one in N.Cape (NC065)

[3]
Two of the 14 Councils (WC041/052) would require an unlikely coalition between
the ANC & DA involving 6 Proportional Councillors, making totals of 12
Councils and 38 Proportional Councillors a more realistic assessment.

[4]
It is interesting to note that in an election year they award themselves
inflation-based increases, but no doubt they will return to form with
above-inflation increases once the election is over.

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About Me

After retiring early, I became involved with the local ratepayers association. This is where I gained first-hand experience of the damage that can be done by proportional representation politicians at local government level. I have become increasingly frustrated with the widening disconnection between party-dominated politicians and the people they (mis)represent.